Improvement in eotaey steam-engines



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

N. B. FAssETT.

Steam Engine.

Patented Sept. 1

e, e /wf/f/ IIlllllll-IIIIIIHIIH n llilllj 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

N. B. FASSETT.

Steam Engine.

No. 81,763. A

Patented rSept. 1, 1868.

geiten @faire inganni @High NELSON B, FAsSErnor' ADRIAN, MICHIGAN, AssIeN'o'n To IMSELF AND r s 4WILLIAM HUMPHREY, 0F SAME .BLAUE Letters .Patent No.V 81,763, dated September 1, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT 1N ROTARY sTsAM-ENGINBS.

To ALL wHoM rr MAY ooNonnN.

Beit known that I, NELSON B. FAssmT, 'of Adrian, county of Lenawee, and State of' Michigan, have invented a newfand useful Improvement in Rotary Engines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of'l the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making@ part of vthis specification, in whichi Figure 1 is a perspective view-of a rotary engine embodying/my invention.

Figure 2 is a horizontal section. i

Figure 3 is a transverse section, passing through the line :uy in iig. 2.

Figure 4 is also a transverse section, passing throughthe lines :zzy in iig. 2.

Figure 5 is a viewof the main shaft and its attachment, when separated from the rest of the engine.

Figure 6 is a sectional view of the piston-wings, with packings.

Figure 7 is aperspective view of the pistou-packings.-

Figure 8 'is a view of the end of the pistons.

Figure 9 is a side view of the slot-wheel, crank-arm, and stop-wheel, taken in line oi' the main shaft.

Figure 10 is a horizontal section of the parts represented in the last preceding figure;

Figure 11 is a vertical section of one of the steam-backers.

Figure 12 is a plane section of the parts representedA in fig. 11. i

Figure 13 is a side view of the stop-wheel.

H represents the mainvshaft.

A B andA Blvvare the two cylinders.

E and E! are the cylinder-heads. l

G is the centre-piece or partition between the two cylinder-sf.

I is the dr'vingfpulley. i

K and K are crank-arms.

L and L are slot-wheels.

M and M are stcp-wheels'.

' N and N are journal-abutments. i

It and R are rotary pistons.

P and 1P', are radial pistons. i

The rotary pistons aretwo in number, one in eac1f i .cylinder ,jf (see'tige. 2, 5, .an"d 8 eah consistingof the following parts, to wit-z 'l First of a. cylindrical thiuiblekeyed to the nia-in shaft.'

Second, of two packing-rings, o and o,one in each end.-

Third, of a steam-channel, m, in one end. 'Y I The radial pistons are also twain number, Vandere castor otherwise made solid to .thek rotary piston,. ea ch consisting ofthe following parts, to wit: v v

First, of arwing attached to the rotary piston, theendsand outer edge of" which` are groovedto admit of packing. 4 I i I i 1 i i i A Second, of two pieces of packing, q and r, eachinthe forni of the letter L figs. 6, 7, and 8,' shown separately in iig. 7. l 'l Third, of the two steady-pins ve c,ig. (5j-.driven into the en dsof the -radial piston,'on an angle of about forty-'five degrees, vand extending into the pa'ekings g and r, so that, bythe force' the steam behind these two packings, they are pressed outward inthe directiono the p ns c c.

The projections, erfand biz, `and thetwo shoulders, al'and 61, fig- 7, admit ofv only a longitudinal movement of the two packingsq and r, against the centre-piec'e,G,.-and heads of the cylinder, while the steady-'pins c o admit also of an equally oppositeor outer movement of tho packings against the periphery of the cylinder, thus keeping the radial piston always tightly packed.

S and S are twok steam-backers, cach consisting of the following parts, to wit: I

First, of a shaft., T, turning on the two journals C andlD, and having four radial wings, a, b, c, and d, set at equal intervals. V

Second, of four packing-bars, f, g, h, and z', iig. 4, with their outer faces rounded,.to fit the periphery of the cylinder. i

Third, of ,four packing-beruf', g', h', ande", with outer faces hollowed, to ft the ycircle of the rotary piston.

Fourth, of two circular disks, j and k, fig. 2, which are designed to be cast or otherwise made solid to the ends of the four radial wings, in order to strengthen them and make them steam-tight, the disks being recessed into the centre-piece and head of the cylinder.

Fifth, of'two rings, 1-1, that are screwed to a projection on the outside of each Acircular diskj and k.

Sixth, of two rings, n and n', that it the'periphery of the recesses, and encirolethe disksj and la.

The two steam-backersS and S are prcisely alike, both turning at one end on tho journal D, which is vseparate from'the centre-piece G. I f

The packing-rings n and n are somewhat larger than the circular disksj and k, so as to allow the steam to press in between them, and, being stopped by the rings 1 and 1', force them against the periphery ofthe recesses, and thus prevent the escape of steam. Y i

In-thd same manner, tho packing-hanf, fig. 4, is forced against thevperiphery of the 'cylinder B, by the steam pressing between the former and a shoulder of the'radial wingl b, and in like manner the packing-bar i is forced against the rotary piston R, thus preventing the escape of steam in those places. i

y-Therings 1 and 1 are made to screw on toa projection of the circularydisks, as shown, merely for the purpose of facilitatingconstruction.

The rotary pistons are also similar to each other, excepting that they are what may be called right and left handed, as regards the steam-channel, m. i

This channel is a circular groove, castin one end of the rotary piston, 'and is to be of as many degrees in length as is required for thesteam., at each stroke, before it is to be cut off.

It is intended that the steam shall back the rings o and o' andthe packings q and r, and thus keep them pressed against their respective surfaces, the steady-pins c c preventing them from iiyin'g out of their 'grooves while passing the steam-backers.

The packing-barsf, g, h, and t', and f', g', h',- and have tenons extending under the rings n and n', and

touch thc rings 1 and 1', (see iig. 12.) A A These tenons prevent the packing-bars from becoming displaced while revolving from m to n, fig. 4, in the direction indicated bythe arrow. I l The two cylinders, A B and A B', are moulded in two sections, an upper and a lower section, and bolted together by their horizontal ange, and `each head is also moulded in t-wo parts, which, in like manner, are bolted together by their ianges and to the cylinders, as shown in the drawing. The upper face of the lower section is groovcd out, both in the heads and cylinders, to receivea strip of rubber, or other suitable'packing, to prevent escape of steam.

The slot-wheel L, figs. 1 9, and '10, is made fast upon the shaft T of the steam-hacker, and, as'represented, has four radial slots, s t u v, out in the outer face, leaving a portion of the inside face solid, for the purpose of strengthening the wheel;

On the inside and edge of the wheel, between the slots, the wheel is circled out a portion of its thickness, as shown in iig. 1, and by the dotted lines in iig. 9, and the stop-wheel M, revolving in these circles, prevents the slot-wheel L, and consequently the steam-backer S, fromturning, except at certain intervals. i

The crank-arm K is provided with a. crank-pin, and around it a friction-roller, z, equal in length to the depth, and in diameter to the width of the slotsin the slot-wheel. I

The crank-arm and stop-wheel M, moulded in one piece, are keyed on to the main shaft, theA two crankarms being turned on exactly opposite sides of the m'ain shaft, corresponding with their respective radial pistons, as shown in tig. 5. i

Having thus described the construction of my invention, I will now proceed to the description of its operation. y f I will begin by supposing the main shaft, Il, to be turned, so as to bring the crank-arm K in the relative position represented in iig. 1.

It is now evident, upon the theory 'of construction, that the rotary and radial pistons R and P, in the cylinder A B, will occupy the relative position represented in fig. 4,'and, in the cylinder A B', ithc position exactly opposite, as shown" by the dotted lines.; and if we suppose the steam-haeker S to be prevented from turning by the stop-wheel M, and tho steam-chuanels/ml to be in communication with the conduit-passage m', we shall form an unobstructed passage into the space al, formed as shown in g. 4, and if welet in a current of steam, it will act against the radial piston P, and force the main shaft H into revolution in the direction indicated by the arrow, and, having forced it past the point of cut-off, (which is the terminus of the steam-channel ml'will escape through the exhaust-opening F. i

At thispoint, the friction-roller z enters the slot s of the slot-'wheel L, and causes the wheel to revolve one-fourth of a circumference, thus permitting the 'rotary piston P to pass by the steam-hacker S unobstructed.

The notch A of the'stop-whcel M, g. 13, which had prevented the slot-wheel L from turning during threefourths of the revolution of the main shaft, allows it to turn when driven by the crank-arm K.

In precisely the same manner does the steam act against the radial piston P', in the cylinder A B', and

the crank-arm K', with the slot-wheel L,'bo'th sides operating alternately,l and imparting a continual rotary power to the main shaft. y

In case it should hecome necessary, from any cause, toget to the interior of the engine, it is only necessary to unseren' the several nuts 1 2 3 4, &c.,'when'the who-le upper section of both cylinders may be removed;

1', constructed in the manner set forth and described.

and by further unscrewing the nuts on the caps of the journal-abutments N and N', the main shaft and steambackers S' and S may also bev removed.

`l: have designed openingapassage for the steam into the steam-channel m, through the lower section of the centre-piece G, at the point m, iig. 3, instead of conducting .the steam up into the-upper-section, as shown, iu which case the steam-channel m willlhave to be moved around accordingly.

I design, also, using eithermetal or other suitable material for the packing-ringen and n. n

AI' design, also, (if 'it shall `be found desirable,)to'couple together in one piece each set of .packing-bars z' and z",fandf, Sto., and to groove th under side of eachrcouple,'and have a tongue on the radialwing, extend into it, to prevent displacement. Y A

Having thus described -my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- I 1. The two steam-backers S and S', in combinationwith their respective radial pistons P and P', constructed-and operating in the manner` substantially as set forth `and described.

`2, The circular disks 7' and k, in combination with thc radial wi'ngs a, b, c, and d, shaft T, and ringsl Vand 3. The combination of the convex-faced bar fand concave-faced bar f', for packing against the concave case B and rotary piston B. respectively','inthe manner set forth and described.

4. The combination of the slot-wheel L with the crankarm K, friction-roller z, and stop-wheel M, constructed in .the manner set forth and described.

5. The steam-channelm and m or m, in combination with rotar iston R and centreieee G res ectivel Y v Y P P P Y as'set forth and described.

NELSON B. FASSETT.

Witnesses:

J. E. M.BoWEN, .Il L. EWIN. 

